PDA

View Full Version : New Jersey Residents, prepare to re-register.


Nuts
03-07-2006, 8:40 AM
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/A1500/1327_I1.HTM

This goes a step further than the current federal laws by mandating that forum operators collect legal information from all members. If they fail to do so, the forum operator may be held liable for any damages that may be inflicted from a derogatory post on his or her website. Let's hope this doesn't pass, otherwise we could be witness to a new era of internet privacy. The only question here is whether or not a New Jersey resident can bring suit against a non-resident website. The legal definitions seems bit sketchy.

This bill would require an operator of any interactive computer service or an Internet service provider to establish, maintain and enforce a policy requiring an information content provider who posts messages on a public forum website either to be identified by legal name and address or to register a legal name and address with the operator or provider prior to posting messages on a public forum website.

The bill requires an operator of an interactive computer service or an Internet service provider to establish and maintain reasonable procedures to enable any person to request and obtain disclosure of the legal name and address of an information content provider who posts false or defamatory information about the person on a public forum website.

In addition, the bill makes any operator or Internet service provider liable for compensatory and punitive damages as well as costs of a law suit filed by a person damaged by the posting of such messages if the operator or Internet service provider fails to establish, maintain and enforce the policy required by section 2 of the bill.

LinkTheGameFreak
03-08-2006, 1:31 PM
i read about this elsewhere and although I don't agree with how it's being carried out, I do agree with the measures they are taking - it not only will protect the forum operator but will benefit the forumers more than anyone else because it will protect them from "anonymous post" lawsuits that state that if someone makes an anonymous threat to you over the internet then "blah blah blah" sue... I suppose that this will help cut those down and possibly even help the FBI find people who make threats (such as death lists and such against classmates and teachers) easier. I'm not advocating that we become an Orwellian society but with the way people behave online this seems to be the smart way to deal with it.

Nuts
03-08-2006, 2:27 PM
Holy poop on a stick, a reply!

The primary problem I see here is the fact that the internet is a faceless entity. By providing legally verifiable proof of identity, you are opening yourself to the possibility of identity theft. An ip address combined with name, address and phone number could be infinitely damaging to the user. It doesn't take much to create a website, and there are some very disreputable people that make a very good living by suckering people into giving out personal information. These lists can be bought and sold on the black market for all types of nefarious reasons. It's simply too much information for the sole purpose of bringing a tort suit against someone for calling you names on the internet.

Neo
03-08-2006, 5:03 PM
Bullshit, plain and simple.

It will never work at any rate. Notice the public forum bit? Operators can just set the forum to private and tada, no more problems. (private as in: one must register to use it). Though I am sure thats not quite right either, but you can't really say any forum is public anyways. How can a privately operated and run forum somehow be subjected to a law like this? And besides that, how many websites operate out of NJ?

Oh, and your link doesn't work....

-Neo

Nuts
03-08-2006, 5:08 PM
It would appear that the bill has been withdrawn.

Hooray?

Neo
03-08-2006, 5:12 PM
Haha. I bet as soon asit would've hit Slashdot it would've gotten withdrawn anyways.

Lest NJ be without internet service while the rest of the internet attacks them >_>!!! Hahaha.

Was this bill supposed to go along with that moronic Annoying on the Internet one?

-Neo

Nuts
03-08-2006, 5:14 PM
Was this bill supposed to go along with that moronic Annoying on the Internet one?

-Neo
I think was taking it a few steps further. As it was, you could annoy someone online by signing your name, or at least that's how I interpreted it.

Schwitzer
03-08-2006, 5:15 PM
Of course, there is another problem as well. Collecting the information is easy enough, but verifying it will be exceedingly difficult and costly to the website operator. How can you guarantee that I'm not sending out a fake address?

This ties in to the identity theft issue that Nuts has already brought up. It is too easy to pretend to be someone else.

All up, it seems to be a lot of effort for no real gain, not to mention an unnecessary obligation to divulge personal information.

Edit: Oh. Meh.